DAILY DEVOTIONAL FREOM PASTOR WESLEY December 8, 2021

God’s Loving Outreach

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, ``Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore, the Samaritan woman said to Him, ``How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, ``If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, `Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." She said to Him, ``Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? ``You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?" Jesus answered and said to her, ``Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." The woman said to Him, ``Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw." He said to her, ``Go, call your husband and come here." The woman answered and said, ``I have no husband." Jesus said to her, ``You have correctly said, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." The woman said to Him, ``Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. John 4:7-19

The Lord’s encounter with the Samaritan woman is a wonderful example of His loving response to hurting individuals. Although this meeting may have appeared accidental, it was really a providential appointment with the Messiah.

As the woman approached the well, Jesus initiated conversation by asking for a drink of water. Since Jews and Samaritans didn’t fraternize with one another, His direct approach surprised her. But it opened the door for dialogue.

Throughout the exchange, Jesus wanted to help the woman recognize her greatest need so He could meet it: salvation. It seems she’d been looking in the wrong places for love and acceptance, but now Christ was offering her the living water of the Holy Spirit—the only thing that would quench her spiritual thirst.

Like the Samaritan woman, we can at times be so intent on getting our immediate needs met that we fail to see God’s hand reaching out in love, offering true satisfaction. The world makes all kinds of promises about love, acceptance, and self-worth, but they never last. Only Jesus can fill our empty souls for eternity. So, when your well runs dry, look for Christ and let Him quench your thirst with His Spirit.

Only Jesus can eternally satisfy our need for love and acceptance.

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